Alajuela, Alajuela

Alajuela is a province in Costa Rica. The capital city of this province is Alajuela, so you have Alajuela, Alajuela. I once made the mistake, not long after moving to Costa Rica, of asking my taxi driver to take me to Alajuela! I finally managed to say I wanted the city - so embarrassing.

Alajuela is the second largest city in Costa Rica, 20 km northwest of the capital city of Costa Rica, San José. It is also the birthplace of Juan Santamaria, the national hero of Costa Rica and the namesake of Costa Rica’s main international airport.

The province of Alajuela is located in the north central part of the country, bordering Nicaragua to the north. The city of Alajuela is 952 meters above sea level and is known as the City of Mangoes.

We had occasion to be in the city of Alajuela last weekend and were not far from the central park, so we walked around for a while. As is the norm in Costa Rica, a Catholic church is attached to the park and apparently all churches face west. Why? So that people sitting inside the church for services are facing east - where Jerusalem is located and the crucifixion of Jesus. This is just what I have read - please correct me if this is wrong. The Alajuela cathedral is named Cathedral of the Virgin of the Pillar and it is really lovely, as is the park.

On the morning we were there, the church bells were melodiously pealing and pealing. I’ve only ever heard church bells here tolling the hour and half hour so not sure if this was a call to morning mass or what. During the day, it appears churches keep all their doors open and anyone can go in and sit, or just look around. 

Here are some photos I took.

There was a festival in the park, hence the tents:

The park trees are massive:



We were wondering what this red dome is for:

Association of Residents of Costa Rica / El Residente Magazine

I often get questions about visiting and/or living in Costa Rica. Sometimes, I know the answer. Other times, I do not. However, if a question relates to rules, regulations, laws, procedures. etc., I have to express caution. There are frequent changes. What was true at one time, might not be true today - and I might not be aware of any changes.

The Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR) is a first class source of more up to date information on a wide range of topics including residency requirements, dealing with government agencies and departments, real estate concerns, medical concerns, banking, insurance, medical plans, professional service recommendations, and many more.

A substantial amount of practical information and information of general interest appears in ARCR's El Residente magazine. It features articles on immigration, residency and the laws of Costa Rica and includes regular articles on learning Spanish, living in Costa Rica, retirement, and items of interest to foreigners in the country. The magazine is published six times a year both in hard copy and in digital form. The cover page of the current issue (January - February 2019) appears below.

Normally, the digital version of El Residente is emailed freely to ARCR members. Non-members can only gain digital access to past issues by going to ARCR's website. However, I was particularly impressed by the presentation and content of the current issue and obtained permission from ARCR to provide a link to the issue.

To view a downloadable PDF copy of the current issue click HERE.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - January 2019

During January, visits to this blog were received from the following 16 countries:

Next is a summary of weather for the month:

The dry season continues. This was the second month in a row without any rain. Many trees lose their leaves during this time and produce large, brilliant blossoms in very bright displays of orange, yellow, purple, pink, and red - painted treetops. 

In this photo taken from our house, you can see a display of orange flowered trees in the distance. It doesn’t really do them justice as they need to be seen close up:

At one side of our house, we have Petrea volubilis (aka queen’s wreath, purple wreath, Choreque) blooming. This photo illustrates much better how intense the colours can be:

With regard to temperatures, the average overnight low has dropped compared to last month (December) and has been quite chilly by Costa Rican standards but nothing remotely approaching the “Polar Vortex” lows recently felt in Canada and the USA. Since last month, the average daytime high has risen.

Amphitheater de Villa/Anfiteatro de Villa

Last week, we went to Amphitheater de Villa in Ciudad Colón. This is a fun and interesting place to visit - about a 45 minute drive from where we live - Hacienda el Paseo, Puente de Piedra, Grecia.

It’s an old stone quarry with a natural amphitheater and underground tunnels showcasing replicas of famous sculptures. You can read all about it here, here and here.

It is open at noon on Wednesday through Sunday and the last tour is at 8:00pm. Cost for entry into the tunnels is 5,500 colones for adults. If you just want to walk around outside, there is no charge. Large parking area. There is also a restaurant but we didn’t try it so can’t comment. The views are stunning. Our guide was bilingual and very knowledgeable.

It was cool and humid in the catacombs. A strange feeling knowing you are walking underneath lava that formed eons ago. We didn’t complete the entire tour because we had an appointment elsewhere so left about halfway through. I didn’t do enough research beforehand and thought we could just wander around at will. It would be very easy to get lost in all the tunnels, hence the guide.

The natural amphitheater:

You can see how deep the rock is:

Sorry, blurry. This is the chapel, which can be used for different functions, including weddings:



You can see erosion here on the chest, which is caused by the constantly dripping ceilings:





That circle on the floor near the volcano mural is a vertical tunnel that goes down, down, down .... it is lighted so you can see how deep it is. I couldn’t look at it for very long - vertigo:

Our Backyard at Sunset

I took these photos yesterday at 5:55 pm. The sun sets so fast here it’s like a ball dropping into the ocean. These photos were taken in our backyard.

Vegetation between our property and the lot next door:

Our coconut tree and my hammock:

San Luis de Grecia

Today we decided to explore another of the five ridges running up to Poas volcano. This was San Luis de Grecia, which apparently is the highest ridge of the five.

San Luis is about 13 kms from our house on the usual twisty and climbing, but paved, road - until it ended at a rough looking dirt road. We turned around here and proceeded back down.

At an elevation of 4,800 ft to 5,000 ft (1,463 m/1524 m), the air is quite cool. The views are stunning, with coffee fincas everywhere. The volcanic ash enriched soils are perfect for growing coffee and other crops. When you look down into the valleys, everything is laid out in perfect order - hedgerows, fields, coffee. 

Here are a few photos.

Clouds hang over some areas:


I don’t do selfies but Lance took this photo of me:

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - December 2018

During December, visits to this blog were received from the following 15 countries:

Next is a summary of the weather for the month:

As can be seen, the dry season is now fully upon us. Although there was at least some rain in some parts of the country, there was absolutely no measurable rain where we live.

The 58°F overnight low temperature was the coldest overnight low that we have experienced in the seven plus years we have lived in Costa Rica. There were actually 4 days in December where the temperature dropped below 60°F. In Vista Atenas where we previously lived for most of our time in Costa Rica, the lowest was 59°F and that was on a single occasion in one year only. But, that is probably because the location in Vista Atenas was at a slightly lower elevation and a bit closer to the Pacific Coast than our current location.